Pizza Masters

Sal Basille and Francis Garcia are first cousins, best friends, and together they own some of the most successful pizza shops in NYC. They're always on the search for the best pizza around so, in honor of Fran's birthday, they head off on a road trip to visit Graceland. It's the experience of a lifetime for an Elvis fanatic like Fran and, of course, these pizza masters make some stops along the way to discover the best pizza Tennessee has to offer.

Episodes

Fran and Sal are in the Bay Area to celebrate the second anniversary of the Berkeley, Calif., location of Artichoke Basille's. To reward the staff for all of their hard work, they are surprising them with an anniversary party on a beautiful vineyard in Napa. While in San Francisco, the guys check out Goat Hill Pizza, a favorite in town for 40 years. On their way out to Napa, the guys come across The Choke Coach, a food truck that serves nothing but artichoke-based dishes. The guys finally make it to Charter Oak Winery in Napa and meet their hosts Robert and Layla Fanucci. In the end, everyone arrives, the guys make a toast to Artichoke Berkeley, and food and drink flow as the sun sets in Napa.

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille take a break from the thick New York heat, and rent a lakeside cabin in Juneau, Alaska, to relax in the cool weather and check out the local food scene. They head to Tracy's King Crab Shack for the freshest Alaskan king crab and sea scallops in the country, and then discover some sweet treats at the Alaskan Fudge Company. Last, but not least, they experience a smoked salmon pizza at The Island Pub and cross their fingers that they'll be able to go on an airplane delivery!

The mojo's rising as Francis Garcia and Sal Basille find themselves in New Orleans, where food comes first. The guys make a stop at Slice Pizzeria for New Orleans-style pizza. Fran settles down with an elaborate Bloody Mary at Apolline while Sal has an encounter with his own Bloody Mary. Then they head to Domilise's for a taste of their famous po' boy. The guys step out to the historic Little Gem Saloon where legends of jazz have graced the stage; but, the star of the show is always their famous Louisiana crawfish cheesecake.

It's Sal's birthday, and his cousin Fran has a surprise party planned for him. He's invited the whole family to come celebrate, dozens of fun, happy, loud Italians of all ages partying in Fran's big house in Staten Island. Before the shindig, Fran has to keep Sal occupied all day so he doesn't catch wind of the party. So he has set up a special birthday lunch for Sal at his favorite Asian restaurant in the city, Xi'an Famous Foods, where owner and chef Jason Wang will give Sal a private lesson on the secrets of hand pulled noodles and dumplings. Fran has also arranged a custom batch of lemon meringue birthday doughnuts from Fany Gerson at Dough for the party, but they are not ready in time so Fran stalls as he tells Sal they have to head to Artichoke Pizza to handle a "big order." Finally, Fran and Sal head to the house in Staten Island and, when they arrive, Sal's completely surprised! The whole family is there, some of whom he hasn't seen in a long time. They celebrate his BIG, FAT ITALIAN BIRTHDAY the only way they know how ... family, fun and lots of great food!

On their way to Las Vegas for a convention, Fran discovers that his cousin Sal has booked them on a connecting flight through St. Louis, with an eight-hour layover. But, there is a method to Sal's madness. He has mapped out iconic eateries in St. Louis to try out, starting with Tiffany's Diner on Rt. 66, where they've been serving up "Slingers", traditional St. Louis breakfast, since 1960. Then, the guys head over to Russell's on Macklind to try a unique spin on gooey butter cake. No layover is complete without discovering the local pizza scene, so Sal and Fran head to Frank & Helen's for a slice or two of their famous St. Louis-style pizza and Toasted Ravioli.

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille are headed to Bozeman, Mont., for a city slicker adventure on a working ranch. Their excursion starts with a home-cooked meal of sourdough bread, baked beans and beef tenderloin at the G Bar M Ranch. The next morning, they head into town for a hearty cowboy breakfast that's washed down with a huckleberry milkshake. They mosey over to Red Tractor Pizza to get a taste of their "farm to pizza" pies, and then end their trip with homemade strawberry rhubarb pie.

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille hit up Atlantic City, where Fran wants to try his luck at the blackjack table and Sal plans on winning big with the city's food. After a visit to a childhood friend using local ingredients to make unique pizzas at Tony Boloney's, they head to White House Sub Shop for a loaded Italian sub. Later, they trade the blackjack table for a dinner table at Chef Vola's, where they dine on veal pizzaiola and a ricotta cheesecake so light, it practically levitates.

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille are in Miami for a charity golf tournament. While they don't know the first thing about golf, they do know how to find the best eats that Miami has to offer. First up, Thea's Pizzeria, to see how Thea's artichoke pizza compares to their own. Fran and Sal find the best Cuban Sandwich in Miami at David's Cafe Cafecito, and finally, they head to Michael's Genuine for a mouthwatering grouper and a refreshing lychee cocktail to help them unwind after a long day on the links.

Fran and Sal are in the Bay Area to celebrate the second anniversary of the Berkeley, Calif., location of Artichoke Basille's. To reward the staff for all of their hard work, they are surprising them with an anniversary party on a beautiful vineyard in Napa. While in San Francisco, the guys check out Goat Hill Pizza, a favorite in town for 40 years. On their way out to Napa, the guys come across The Choke Coach, a food truck that serves nothing but artichoke-based dishes. The guys finally make it to Charter Oak Winery in Napa and meet their hosts Robert and Layla Fanucci. In the end, everyone arrives, the guys make a toast to Artichoke Berkeley, and food and drink flow as the sun sets in Napa.

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille have been asked to help judge the Miss Rhode Island Italia pageant, held annually in Providence. And the guys can't wait to check out the city's well-known food scene. First stop is Caserta's Pizza in historic Federal Hill, then they're off to Al Forno to meet the creator of grilled pizza. After the pageant, Fran and Sal celebrate at Iggy's on the coast for some seafood classics and a fried, sugary treat called a doughboy.

It's opening day of a new Artichoke in Brooklyn but Fran cannot find his lucky hat, and he won't open without it. The day before he and Sal went on one of their famous food tours of favorite restaurants in and around New York, so they retrace their day looking for the hat. The day started in the old neighborhood on Staten Island and the famous Clam Pizza at Lee's Tavern. Then, they headed to Zeppieri's & Sons in the Bronx to satisfy their sweet tooth with world famous Italian sfogliatelles. Finally, they capped off their mouthwatering trip with dinner at Fornos of Spain in Newark, N.J., where they feasted on authentic Seafood Paella and Codfish Croquettes.

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille take a break from the thick New York heat, and rent a lakeside cabin in Juneau, Alaska, to relax in the cool weather and check out the local food scene. They head to Tracy's King Crab Shack for the freshest Alaskan king crab and sea scallops in the country, and then discover some sweet treats at the Alaskan Fudge Company. Last, but not least, they experience a smoked salmon pizza at The Island Pub and cross their fingers that they'll be able to go on an airplane delivery!

Francis Garcia and Sal Basille are headed to Bozeman, Mont., for a city slicker adventure on a working ranch. Their excursion starts with a home-cooked meal of sourdough bread, baked beans and beef tenderloin at the G Bar M Ranch. The next morning, they head into town for a hearty cowboy breakfast that's washed down with a huckleberry milkshake. They mosey over to Red Tractor Pizza to get a taste of their "farm to pizza" pies, and then end their trip with homemade strawberry rhubarb pie.